


Unrequited

by Kantayra of Yore (Kantayra)



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-09-04
Updated: 2003-09-04
Packaged: 2017-10-21 01:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/219168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kantayra/pseuds/Kantayra%20of%20Yore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU; everyone's human. Nerdy high-school student Elizabeth Summers has an unrequited crush on bad boy Spike, but her shyness only allows her to express her daydreams through prose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unrequited

Elizabeth yawned as Ms. Calendar dimmed the classroom lights, propping her elbow up on her desk. The motion accidentally sent one of her pencils spinning across the smooth, finished surface, and Elizabeth scrambled desperately after it a few times before it escaped her clumsy fingers and clattered to the floor.

Wincing at her incredible klutziness as well as the fact that the entire class had probably seen it, Elizabeth blushed and quickly leaned over to pick it up off the floor.

“I got it, luv.”

Elizabeth’s face flamed a deep red as her fingers brushed those of the boy beside her. She ventured to look nervously over at him, stuttering at the intense blue-eyed gaze that met hers. “U-Uh, thanks,” she mumbled.

He spared her a small smile, set the pencil back down on her desk, and turned back to where he’d been whispering amused comments to his best friend, Dru, in the row in front of him.

William ‘Spike’ Sumpter. The class Bad Boy. Thin, lean body, high, angular cheekbones, and wicked smirk. Bleached white hair and black leather. And easily the hottest boy at Sunnydale High...to Elizabeth, at least. And their fingers had just brushed, if only for a fraction of an instant. Inwardly, Elizabeth was squealing with fan-girlish glee. She absolutely couldn’t _wait_ to tell Willow next period in science. She and Spike had actually touched hands! And he’d called her ‘luv’!

She sat back in her chair, tilted at the perfect angle so that she could watch Spike while still looking to Ms. Calendar like she was watching the boring sex ed video. Silently, the thanked whatever quirk of alphabetic fate had led Summers and Sumpter to be pre-seated next to each other in every class they had together. Sophomore year, they’d had an exchange student from Australia named Melissa Summers, and Elizabeth had fumed the entire time that she’d been pushed one seat away from the object of her four-year-long crush. She’d envisioned dozens of brutal deaths for the girl, while sneaking as many sidelong glances as she could at Spike.

And he didn’t even know she existed. Her fingers strayed from the notebook in front of her, ink still fresh from her latest rendition of ‘Spike loves Elizabeth’. In the secret code she and Willow had invented back in sixth grade, of course. Just in case someone happened to glance at her notebook.

The giddiness at having actually touched him was fading rapidly now, and regret began to take over her. Dammit, those were the first words he’d said to her this quarter, and all she’d been able to reply with was “U-Uh, thanks”? Why hadn’t she said something witty or funny? Made him laugh? At least given him a bright smile so that he could see how friendly she was? Maybe he would’ve whispered one of his funny, insulting comments about the class video to her, instead of Dru. Maybe he would’ve…

Probably not.

She’d seen the way he was with Dru. The two of them were both punk-vamp, and they hung out together all the time, and there were rumors running around school that they were actually going steady now and…  
She was just a nerdy nobody. Too flustered to speak half the time, not exotic or striking looking, and boring as all hell. If only…

She picked up the Spike-touched pencil and began scribbling casually in her notebook, trying to look as though she were taking notes on the video.

 _Elizabeth was a beautiful, golden blonde, a powerful warrior with the strength of ten men, and…_

Elizabeth paused, frowning, and erased her name from the story. She needed something that sounded less blah than ‘Elizabeth’, something less stuffy and Victorian sounding. Maybe Beth? Liz? Her mind quickly trailed through every nickname she could think of until it hit upon the answer:

 _Buffy was a beautiful, golden blonde, a powerful warrior with the strength of ten men, and…_

Buffy. The perfect name. Fun and cute and sexy sounding. Anyone named Buffy just _had_ to be attractive and popular. Not dull and droll like Elizabeth…

 _A cry sounded through the night. Buffy ran to the rescue, racing with lightning-quick speed. She came across a clearing only to find a handsome young man in the clutches of an evil vampiress. The vampiress turned to look at Buffy as she approached, a wicked gleam in her eyes._

 _“Let him go,” Buffy warned dangerously, wooden stake clenched in her hand. “This is between you and me, Dru.”_

 _Dru, gaunt and sickly with death, cackled. “He’s mine now, Slayer,” she taunted. “You honestly think you can save him from me?”_

The image of Dru dusting flashed through Elizabeth’s mind as she studied the fragment of her story. That part wasn’t important, though. The part she really wanted to get to was…

 _“Spike?” Buffy whispered softly, propping his head up in her lap. “Are you all right?”_

 _Those long, thick lashes fluttered open, and beautiful crystal blue eyes looked up at her. “Buffy?” he asked in relief and delight. “You saved me?”_

 _She nodded with a smile, running her fingers through his silky, platinum locks._

 _Slowly, he sat up so that he was facing her, his body so close to hers she could almost touch him. “Thank you,” he whispered before he leaned in and pressed his full, warm lips to hers, his body catching hers in a passionate embrace and…_

Elizabeth trailed off as her happy thoughts moved faster than her pen possibly could. She fixed her dreamlike stare on the man beside her and imagined those strong arms around her waist, lips nibbling at her ear, whispering to her how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her…

The fantasy came to an abrupt end when Xander Harris burst out in hysterical laughter at the growing breasts portion of the video. All the girls in the class cast offended ‘immature dork’ looks in his direction, while all the guys snickered and Spike even hooted.

Elizabeth had been part of the Xander Scowling crowd until Spike’s hoot. Then, she’d promptly turned and laughed a bit too loudly and enthusiastically at his joke, smile wide and heart racing. He didn’t even notice, however. He was too busy getting playfully slapped by Dru. Elizabeth watched the fun, flirty interaction between the two and bit her lip in disappointment.

God, he really didn’t even know she existed. There was no way he’d be able to miss Buffy, though. He’d want her more than anything in the world, be madly, hopelessly in love with her, and…

She scratched out the paragraphs she’d just written, turning onto a new page for her story’s rewrite.

 _Buffy the Vampire Slayer stalked through the cemeteries at night, searching for her hated foe, Dru. Little did she know, however, that tonight she’d acquired an admirer. Fellow slayer, Spike…_

She paused at that. Nah, it was too simple, too boring. She needed Spike to be something different than just another hero. He needed to still be the cute, leather-clad bad boy, and… Inspiration struck.

 _Spike, a rebel vampire, fighting against his own kind, watched Buffy as she defeated her foes, sudden love and admiration filling his eyes at the sight of the beautiful but powerful blond. Hesitantly, he ventured forth from the shadows, joining her in her fight against Dru’s evil vampire minions._

 _Buffy turned over the minions to her surprising new ally, leaving her to face Dru alone. “It’s over, Dru,” she informed the vampiress coldly, stake raised._

Elizabeth paused, stuck for a minute, before she hastily scratched a note to herself and moved on to the good parts…

 _[Fill in later.]_

 _“You all right, luv?” Spike asked softly, hurrying over to where Buffy stood, surrounded by Dru’s ashes._

 _Buffy gasped in surprise when she realized the handsome stranger was a vampire for the first time, shaky hand still clutching the stake. “I know what you are,” she informed him._

 _He ducked his head. “Doesn’t change how I feel about you, though,” he insisted. “Buffy, I…” He approached her, blue eyes pleading with her._

 _She gulped and dropped the stake, letting him step right up to her so that she could feel his breath against her cheek._

 _“I love you,” he whispered passionately, tilting her chin up. “I know it goes against everything you are, but—”_

 _“Oh, I love you, too, Spike,” she assured him._

 _He moved to kiss her at that, arms holding her tight and lips pressing insistently upon hers, causing her body to melt against him. She reached up to run her fingers through his platinum hair and…_

The bell rang.

Elizabeth snapped her notebook shut with a squeak, realizing that Ms. Calendar had turned off the video a few minutes ago. She hastily got up and realized with a blush that she hadn’t been paying attention to the homework assignment. Oh well, she could just get it from Xander later.

In disappointment, she saw Spike’s characteristic platinum head just as he rushed from the classroom, Dru at his side. They were undoubtedly going back behind the gym for a cigarette before the next bell rang. Elizabeth forced herself to deny the rumors about what other things they did when they were alone behind the gym.

Her mood sagged as she walked to science. Damn, she probably wouldn’t see him again until eighth period gym. And this year they weren’t even paired together for warm-up exercises. Oh no, Maggie Combs had to have switched sections this year so the alphabetic pairings were all shifted, and she was stuck sitting on Michael Sullivan’s feet while he did sit-ups, instead of Spike’s.

She sighed in wistful memory of the two years when she’d been able to hold his feet down and count as his powerful stomach muscles brought him rhythmically up to her. She’d only seen him shirtless once, when he’d been playing basketball after school in the gym, but she’d sat on the sidelines the entire time, watching him dreamily. He was so amazingly hot, and just watching his powerful muscles at work…

Ah well, it wasn’t like she didn’t stare at him anyway. Just the nice touching element of gym was gone now. But, hey, at least she’d gotten the finger brush, right? Heartened by the crush report she got to give her best friend, Willow, she collapsed in her seat in the science lab.

“Oh my god,” Willow grinned, noticing the smile on Elizabeth’s face. “What happened?”

“Finger brush,” Elizabeth said with a blushing grin. “And a ‘luv’.”

“With you-know-who?” Willow squealed.

“Who else?” Elizabeth agreed with a giggle. “I’m thinking it’ll be enough to hold me until gym class,” mind already drifting back to a world where Buffy and Spike lay curled together in bed, kissing and cuddling and necking. Oh yeah, gym class was going to be a lot of fun, just like it had for the last three years.

And, until then, she would continue to hope, dream, and write.


End file.
